FAQ:

Missing Popes

Where is Felix II?
When Felix III was elected pope, the antipope Felix II had not yet been removed from the official pope list. Hence, he thought he was the third pope called Felix.

Where are Martin II and III?
In 1281, when newly elected pope Simon de Brie was choosing his new name, Marinus I and Marinus II were listed as Martin II and Martin III. This was a mistake and caused Martin IV to choose the wrong number.

Where is Johannes XX?
A medieval mistake caused Pedro Julião, who was to be Johannes XX, to choose the wrong number. The reason for the confusion in the listing may be antipope Johannes VIII (II) who died in 844.

Where is Alexander V?
When Rodrigo Borgia, about a month before Columbus set out for America (or India if you will), was elected pope, he thought that Alexander V was a real pope. For that reason he took the name Alexander VI. Later it turned out that Alexander V was mearly an antipope.

Where are Johannes XVI, Benedictus X and Bonifatius VII?
God damn it! I don't know! How can I keep track of all these missing popes? They couldn't count back in those days. Okay?! Now leave me alone.

Suspicious Popes

What's up with Benedictus IX?
Theophylactus, who took the pope-name Benedictus IX, was one of the youngest popes ever. He was elected (possibly aged 11-12) in 1032. In 1044, he was deemed unsuitable and ejected. Soon, his forces reinstated him only to watch him resign and sell the title to a priest for 650 kg gold. He wanted to get married. However, he changed his mind a second time and regained the throne. After a few months, Henry III had had enough and threw Benedictus IX out for the last time. In the end, he was accused of simony and excommunicated.

What happened to Stefan II?
He was elected pope on march 23 752, but suffered a stroke and died just three days later. He was never properly ordained pope and the church just found another Stefan to put in his place. For this reason he is not always considered a real pope. Since other pope's pontificates are counted from the day of their election, it seems logical to include Stefan II among the popes. As late as the 1960's, his status was changed to "not pope" and then numbers of all following Stefans were changed. As you can see, this revision is not respected in this list.

Did Petrus really become pope in the year 33?
Probably not. Firstly, Jesus' birth and death dates are disputed, which reflects on Petrus, since he is supposed to have taken over as Jesus' deputy after crucifiction. Secondly, the very existance of Jesus has been questioned. We will not go into details, since that is a rather lengthy discussion, but if Jesus did not exist it is probable that Petrus also never existed. In that case, an interesting question is when the made-up popelist pass into historical fact.

What is an antipope?
An antopope is just an individual who claims to be pope, but is not accepted by the catholic church. In principle, one could be regarded an antipope just for calling oneself pope. In reality, though, one has to be supported by some sect or worldly leader. There has been almost fifty antipopes and right now there is three: Michael I, Linus II and Pius XIII.

Why aren't the antipopes on the toplist?
They are not regarded as actual popes and hence it is not known if they are chickens. However, if you want to have them on the list, you can: Include antipopes!.

About the List

Wouldn't it be fun to have a toplist with the longest pope elections?
Yes. But those times are not as easy to find as the pontificate dates. Also, the procedure has changed over time. What we can say is that the longest conclave was the one that, after 2 years 9 months 2 days, elected Gregorius X. They endured drastically reduced food supplies and came to a decision only when the roof was dismantled and they realized that the autumn rains would be unpleasant. The shortest conclave elected Julius II in only a few hours. Johannes Paulus II was elected after 3 days and Benedictus XVI and Franciscus in just over a day.

Isn't there a potential problem in that the months have different number of days?
Yes. The sorting does not take this into account. Further more, leap years are ignored. A more serious problem is that many of the earliest dates are approximate or unknown.